Juvenile correctional reform began in the 1800's and focused on the rehabilitation and reintegration of juvenile offenders. Reforms included separation of adults and juveniles, probation, and the development of other alternatives to detention. The use of community service, first implemented in this country in 1969, is the next step in this process of reform. It not only provides juveniles with the freedoms suggested for the ideal community-based systems of detention, but also avoids the hardening of juvenile offenders through association with other incarcerates. It can improve the offender's ties with the community. It provides offenders an opportunity to repay their 'debt to society,' while instilling a sense of responsibility and pride in accomplishment that they may be unable to obtain elsewhere. Community service programs provide a useful sentencing alternative. 147 notes.